Author: Meera

Howdy! I'm Meera. I'm a native Texan, a general badass, wife, double doggo mom, world traveler, and minimalist with zero waste aspirations. When not working as a grants manager at an awesome STEM non-profit, I read an excessive number of YA books, play with my adorable golden retrievers, constantly rearrange our home, and travel the world with my lovely husband.

A response to that viral article on millennial burnout.“Often, we move too fast, on autopilot, and as Petersen describes, life is a constant struggle to keep up. Becoming a parent can be an emotional reset. Am I prescribing parenthood as an antidote for burnout? Of course not. And it doesn’t have to be a child that shakes your worldview and resets your priorities. There are myriad other ways people achieve this kind of reset: a dog, a serious illness, a religious epiphany, ayahuasca.”

Brrrrrr… we’re in the thick of winter and it’s cold even here in Dallas. While you’re cozying up at home and getting your hygge on, here are a few things you can do to make sure you aren’t putting too much of a burden on the environment.

Sweaters: This is the time of year when I live in thick, oversized sweaters. And my number one place for finding them? The thrift store. I’ve said it before and will say it again. While secondhand t-shirts can sometimes feel worn out or faded… I’ve had a lot of luck finding excellent quality sweaters for under $5. This past weekend, I picked up the softest Loft sweater for a whopping $4. So before you decide to order that amazing sweater online, hit up the thrift store or Poshmark or ThredUp to find a piece that’s already out in the world.

Socks: Despite being a generally warm person, my feet are always freezing in the winter time. During the winter, I almost exclusively wear wool hiking socks. While most socks usually have some elastic and/or nylon in them for stretch (and, therefore, not compostable); I’ve found that I’ve never had to toss a pair of my wool hiking socks due to the extreme durability of them. My oldest pair is about 5 years old and has absolutely zero holes. I wear them with boots and around the house (in place of slippers) and then use them while hiking the rest of the year. This is one of those “buy quality over quantity” situations that lead to overall less waste.

Books: With all the indoor time the winter season offers (plus all the New Year’s resolutions to read more), a lot of people take to reading this time of year. Get your books from the library as much as possible! There is seldom a book I haven’t been able to request from our local library (both ebooks and physical ones). Or do a book swap with friends. Or borrow. At the very least, try and find the book used (Amazon is great for this if you look at the used options listed or “More Buying Choices”).

Last year was a great zero waste/low waste/eco-friendly year for me. I started this blog, reduced our household trash production by A LOT, and became a Recycling Ambassador with my city. But we (I) can always do better so here are some goals/resolutions/whatever you want to call it for the coming year. And, also, comment and tell me what your green goals are for this year!

Find a facial bar soap I like. Makeup and skincare products are my “luxury items” — and while I try to buy in glass as much as possible, and recycle everything else with TerraCycle/Origins/L’Occitane… I can do better. So my goal this year is to go totally zero waste when it comes to face wash. I’m thinking this or this.

Re-start my “buy no new clothes” resolution from last year. Last year, I went 10 months (after initially shooting for one month, then three) without buying any new clothing items (except underwear). And by “no new” — I mean, every clothing item I buy must be thrifted (whether at a physical store or from eBay/Poshmark/ThredUp). I’m hoping to go at least 6 months this year.

Save excess shower/bath water, pasta water, tea pot water, etc. in a bucket to use to water plants during the summer. It gets incredibly hot here in Dallas during the summer and my roses drink a lot of water during this time. So I’m going to make an effort to save water that would otherwise go down the drain at home to water the outdoor plants.

Happy New Year! Hope your first week back to work wasn’t too terrible (my brain is still trying to catch up). My eco-friendly/minimalist resolutions for the year will be coming next week once I’ve had some time to ruminate on them. Until then…

Favorites from the week:

Sashiko denim repair. (I’ve been trying to be better about repairing my clothes opposed to immediately recycling or donating.)

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About

Howdy! I'm Meera. I'm a native Texan, a general badass, wife, doggo mom x 3, world traveler, and minimalist with zero waste aspirations. When not working as a grants manager at an awesome non-profit, I read an excessive number of YA books, play with my adorable puppers, constantly rearrange our home, and travel the world with my lovely husband.

You'll find me writing (solely for fun!) about my adventures in minimalism, zero waste, house sprucing, traveling, food, finances, and self care -- all while trying to live the simple life.